Indicator for game apparatus



Feb. 18,1936. G. D. BAROK 2,030,4

INDICATOR FOR GAME APPARATUS Filed March 6, 1935 v .536 -5 9 E EHHllllUi Swami/w G'eorye D'BQI'OE Patented Feb. 18, 1936 a o STATES PATENT QFFIE 5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in mechanical game apparatus, and has particular reference to game apparatus of the type employing a manually operable spring-pressed plunger by which balls or marbles are projected over a pin studded playing surface and their course of movement changed or altered, so that successively projected balls will reach final counting positions of differing values.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball and pin game of the character above referred to with indicating means by which the players of the game may note the degree of retraction of the spring-pressed plungers in projecting the spherical missiles in order that the players may attain greater skill in operating the plungers to produce substantially duplicative results.

In accordance with the present invention, a rotatable and graduated indicator is provided which is mounted in connection with the cabinet or casing of the game apparatus, and which indicator is moved from its normal or zero position by the sliding actuation of the spring-pressed plungers, directly operating gear and rack mechanism being provided between the plungers and the indicators in effecting their correlated movements.

For a further understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a fragmentary top plan view of a ball and pin game apparatus, provided with the indicator mechanism comprising the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail vertical sectional view taken through the indicator mechanism on the plane indicated by the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view on the plane indicated by the line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a slightly modified form of the invention disclosing the indicator as rotatable about a horizontal axis;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on the line V--V of Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the cabinet of a ball and pin game apparatus, and the numeral 2, the playing surface of the apparatus. As usual, the playing surface is provided with a plurality of staggered pins or studs against which the spherical counters of the game strike and are deflected toward various final counting positions. In this instance, the counting positions have been disclosed as comprising openings bearing different numerical values. In projecting the counters over the playing surface 2, the apparatus makes use of the usual manually operated, springpressed plungers of the type disclosed at 3. The plunger 3 comprises a rod 4 having its outer end equipped with a handle or knob 5. The rod is slidably mounted in a bearing 6 formed in connection with the cabinet I and has its inner end provided with an impact head 1. Disposed between the head 1 and one end of the bearing 6 is a coil spring 8, which surrounds the rod 4 and serves to maintain the handle 5 in contact with the outer wall of the cabinet. However, by pulling outwardly upon the handle 5, the plunger maybe retracted, against the resistance offered by the spring 8, so that a spherical counter 9, in engagement with the head 1, may, upon release of the plunger, be impacted and projected upwardly for movement over the inclined playing surface 2, as is customary in games of this type.

In order to provide the players of the game with a means for indicating the extent of retraction of the plunger 3 against the resistance of the spring 8, and thereby obtain greater skill in the operation of such a game, the present invention provides the rod 4 of the plunger with a rack bar l0, which is rigidly connected with said plunger to move in unison therewith. The teeth of the rack bar mesh with a pinion H fixed to a pointer shaft l2, vertically journaled in a. bearing l3 carried by the frame of the cabinet I. The upper end of the shaft l2 terminates above the playing surface and is equipped with a pointer I4, fixed to rotate in unison with 1.

the shaft I2. The pointer rotates over a circular metallic plate l5, secured to the surface 2, the plate I5 being provided with circumferential graduations by which the degree of rotation of the pointer, when the plunger isretracted, may be readily noted by the player of the game. The indicator serves therefore as a guide means for enabling a player to operate the spring-pressed plunger in such a manner as to obtain, within reasonable limits of chance, duplicative results in projecting the spherical game counters and tends to make the game of the kind described more interesting and fascinating to its players.

The construction described is susceptible to considerable variation without departing from its essential features, for instance, as disclosed in Figs. 4 and 5, I provide an indicating dial l6 bearing peripheral graduations on its outer surface. In this instance, the dial is rotatably mounted upon a horizontally disposed axial shaft H, which shaft is equipped at one end with a pinion l8 arranged to mesh with the gear teeth of a rack l9 fixed to the plunger 3. Other variations of course will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the essential features of the invention, as the latter have been set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In game apparatus, a frame, a springpressed plunger carried by said frame, a rotatable indicator carried by said frame, and motion transmitting means between said plunger and indicator for causing the latter to rotate in unison with the sliding movement of said plunger.

2. In game apparatus, a frame, a springpressed plunger slidably carried by said frame, a rotatable indicator including a shaft, a pinion fixed to said shaft, and a gear rack carried by said plunger and meshing with said pinion to effect the turning of said indicator upon sliding movement of said plunger.

3. In game apparatus, a frame, a springpressed plunger slidably supported in connection with said frame, a rack bar carried by said plunger and movable in unison therewith, a vertically journaled shaft, a pinion fixed to said shaft and having the teeth thereof in meshing engagement with the teeth of said rack bar, and a pointer fixed to the upper end of said shaft and movable over a graduated exposed surface on said frame.

4. In game apparatus, a frame, a manually operated spring-pressed plunger slidably carried in connection with said frame, a rack bar fixed to said plunger moving in unison therewith, a pinion having the teeth thereof arranged to constantly mesh with the teeth of said rack bar, and a rotatable indicator fixed to revolve in unison with said pinion.

5. In game apparatus, a frame, a manually operated spring-pressed plunger slidably carried in connection with said frame, a rack bar fixed to said plunger moving in unison therewith, a pinion having the teeth thereof arranged to constantly mesh with the teeth of said rack bar, and a rotatable indicator fixed to revolve in unison with said pinion, said indicator being mounted for rotation in a substantially vertical plane.

GEORGE D. BAROK. 

